Astur aimed his modified telescope at the sun. He had been working on the contraption for half a decade, but somehow, he no longer felt the tingling sensation he used to get when he tested his ideas. The light passed through a narrow slit and the diffraction grating, projecting a rainbow onto the absorption sheet. He counted to ten, closed the telescope's eye, and removed the sheet. Splitting the image of the rainbow, there were hundreds of sharp dark lines.

The experiment had been a success, but Astur just sighed and threw the sheet on his desk. Years ago, he would've been ecstatic. Unlike the other members of the Academic Circle, he was doing real research, not chasing fairy tales, and his results showed in his Personal Sheet. However, everything had felt empty since he learned the world was in danger of being destroyed. Instead of spending hours endlessly searching for knowledge, Astur thought it would've been better to get two or three extra levels.

The growth beyond level fifty was greater than what a handful of titles gave him.

Someone knocked on the door, and with a hand movement, he activated the enchanted circuit on the blinders. The sun lit the white room and made the bronze instruments shine.

"Come in!"

The door opened, and a boy and a girl dressed in the Academy's black fencing uniform entered the room. They were ordinary to the point that Astur forgot their faces after every meeting. He didn't think he could remember them if he ran into them on the street. The girl had freckles, but there were thousands of freckled girls in the city. The boy's shoulders were wide, and his jaw square, but almost every Brawler and Berserker in the kingdom looked like that.

The duo performed a deep bow.

At least their manners were on point, he thought.

"I hope it's something important," Astur said.

The boy rummaged through his bag and pulled out a dirty shirt.

Astur grimaced, but his expression was wiped out as he realized it wasn't just a dirty shirt but an enchanted dirty shirt. He used [Appraisal]. Astur was disappointed that the System never gave him [Identify], but he was no Scholar after all. The garment was a Reinforced Shirt.

"Instructor Clarke gave us the night before the exam. He took our shirts and told us he was performing a reinforcement spell, but after all the hits I took, it was pretty clear it was no spell," Cedrinor said.

"Are there others like this?" Astur asked, suddenly glad about the cadet's visit.

"We think Instructor Clarke stole them back to cover his tracks," Geinvra replied.

Astur nodded, deep in thought. He had doubted Byrne and the High Priest at first when they told him their theory, but it seemed like Robert Clarke really was a rogue Runeweaver. Astur had always considered himself a man of science, but the amount of proof was deafening.

With the shirt in hand as confirmation of that suspicion, the quest prompt finally disappeared from the corner of his vision.

Astur looked at the cadets, wondering what he should do with them now that they had accomplished their mission. Just like Robert Clarke, he also had to cover his tracks.

"What do you think about this?" Astur asked, raising the Reinforced Shirt.

"Instructor Clarke must have an exotic skill. As he keeps it a secret, it must not be very powerful," Genivra said.

"I think we have completely mapped his skillset. The Personal sheet he showed us during our first day was incomplete, as you said, Lord Astur," Cedrinor added. "We have confirmed the use of [Grand Illusion], [Intimidate], [Magic Ink], [Silence Dome], [Minor Aerokinesis], [Minor Geomancy], [Minor Pyrokinesis], and [Minor Hydrokinesis], plus a movement passive that feels like a beastfolk's [Feline Grace]. His [Mana Blade] is just [Mana Manipulation]."

A pleased smile appeared on Astur's face.

The duo had proven to be more effective than he thought.

"Robert Clarke isn't keeping anything a secret, is he?" Astur muttered.

What a fool.

"We have also seen a lot of Instructor Holst and Instructor Wolfsong's skillsets. Instructor Clarke has been training us in real combat. He also had two members of the city guard as guest teachers," Cedrinor said.

Astur nodded.

Evelisse had pressured him to fulfill the Scholar's every whim, including having external people meddle with the Academy's secrecy.

As much as Astur respected Robert Clarke as a teacher, he couldn't just ignore the Quest. The System had deemed Robert Clarke a threat, and he had to be eliminated. Astur didn't understand why the System didn't just order the Zealots to kill him, but he wasn't going to question it. The System was wise in a dispassionate way and, for that reason, was never wrong.

Astur also hadn't understood why exactly Robert Clarke was a threat. Yes, he was a Runeweaver beyond the System's control, but he seemed to be a decent, albeit overprotective, man. However, that brought more questions than answers. How could a Runeweaver be a danger to the System itself?

Searching for answers, Astur had dug deep into the matter and finally found the buried research papers of the daughter of Duke Sellen Jorn, Lyra Jorn. In her research, she established that Runeweavers weren't just high-level Enchanters, but rather, they worked with a completely different set of rules. A lot of the contents were just assumptions and conjectures, but that had earned her expulsion from the Library.

That meant she was on the right track.

Astur could see the hands of the church a mile away. Something Lyra Jorn had guessed had to be right. She revealed a secret only the System could want to keep hidden. If Astur had to guess, it was that Runeweaver worked on a higher level of understanding of the System. Hence, Robert Clarke was a threat because he could somehow interfere with the System.

Astur felt the Quest prompt coming. He smiled yet again. Things were in motion.

"I've got a new mission for you, Genivra," Astur said.

Without the Quest prompt, he wouldn't have remembered the girl's name.

"There will be a rally of the anti-nobility movement a month from now. You were invited by a strange person you met in the city. Bring Robert Clarke with you."

"What will happen then?" Genivra asked.

"Whatever has to happen."

Astur opened a cabinet behind his desk and pulled out a small bag filled to the brim with silver coins. He always found people's fixation on money strange. Even loyalty could be swayed with enough money. Astur could only conclude that people weren't any more rational than animals, despite their human appearance.

The coin purse disappeared into Genivra's jacket.

"You two did a great job," Astur said as a farewell.

Genivra and Cedrinor bowed and turned around, but when they reached the door, Astur stopped them.

"One last thing," he said. "Why?"

"Why?" Genivra repeated, genuinely confused.

"Instructor Clarke's approval among cadets is really high. Why are you selling him out?"

Cedrinor and Genivra exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Instructor Clarke will be gone by the end of the year. We think this is a safer ship to sail long term," Cedrinor said. "No harsh feelings. This is just the option that makes more sense to secure our future, Lord Astur."

Astur stopped to examine their faces for the first time since they met. The boy and the girl had the hardened eyes of survivors who had fought monsters beyond their reach and emerged victorious. Maybe they weren't animals after all.

"You can go," he said, grabbing the absorption sheet from his desk and looking at the missing lines.

Compared to the mysteries of the System, optics was child's play, but he knew he couldn't dig deeper without the risk of being considered undesirable, just like Lyra Jorn. Since Astur got his class, he had done everything to rise above the rest. He was among the highest-ranking people in the kingdom. Still, since he got the Quest, Astur had been feeling uneasy. There was a whole world of knowledge forbidden to him. One that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach.

"Why did an orphanage teacher become a Runeweaver?" Astur asked himself.

For the first time in his life, Astur felt inferior.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The only comfort he had was that Robert Clarke's life would come to an end soon, hopefully leaving behind a group of cadets worthy of becoming Imperial Knights. He nodded. Even if Robert Clarke died, his knowledge would pass on, and he would live forever as part of the Imperial Academy and the kingdom.

A shadow fell like a curtain, and an old man appeared in the corner of the room. Astur hadn't detected him, but he knew he had been there all the time, listening. He always was.

"Good job, Lord Astur," the old man said.

"You don't seem surprised," he replied.

"That's because I already knew Robert Clarke was a Runeweaver."

Byrne sat down across the desk, his words left Astur frozen in place.

"Then why did I get this Quest?"

"Proof. Material proof, so that others will believe."

Astur sat down slowly, without taking his eyes off Byrne. He appeared to be an old man, but Astur knew the truth. He was a Runeweaver up to par with the legendary Baram. He was a Scholar, yet he could disappear without a trace. Every single one of his possessions was enchanted in a way that it was invisible even for his [Appraisal].

Astur knew that because he, a Lv.55 Radiant Paladin, lost to him without even scratching his vest.

"Why don't we kill Robert Clarke?"

Byrne seemed to know a whole lot about the designs of the System.

"Because…" he said. "He still has a part to play."

* * *

Although I should have been more focused on the name in the Scry Ledger, I couldn't take my thoughts off the man in the hockey mask and his disorienting skill. Once again, I tried to summon the System Avatar to interrogate him about any new Earthlings in the neighborhood, but my calls remained unanswered.

Willow punched Fenwick's shield. His [Lily Ward] cracked, but before the half-gnome could finish the job, he used [Tongue Lash] to grab onto the protective bubble around the dueling area and yanked himself away from Willow's reach. I had to give it to him; his usage of his skills was getting more and more creative. [Tongue Lash] had a sticky effect to it, so it was a great skill to control the opponent's movements or one's own.

Willow clicked her tongue in displeasure and used [Quick Step] to change the direction of her sprint. Yvain and Genivra parted ways in opposite directions. Willow chose to chase Genivra, but the girl ran towards Leonie, forcing the girl to cast a [Storm Lash]. Willow shattered the lightning bolt with a swing of her arm, but it was enough to make her lose momentum. Genivra seized the moment and got away using her own [Quick Step].

I nodded, pleased with the cadet's performance.

In the adjacent bubble, two of Holst's cadets and two of Ghila's cadets fought Osprey. Even with his huge frame, he was faster than the cadets. His control over his halberd was more than sufficient to keep four of them at bay using minimal abilities. Osprey was a Sentinel, so most of his skills were defensive, and even among Sentinels, his skillset was heavily tilted towards defense.

Across Osprey's bubble, Harwin and Odo fought one-versus-one against cadets from the Basilisk and Gaiarok squads, in fencing-only duels. The two henchmen were dressed in the blue and gray Rosebud Fencing Academy uniform. Malkah had insisted they wear the white crest of the quill and the flower. To complete their set, Odo and Harwin wore rondel daggers with the same crest engraved on the handguard.

Although they had been expelled from the Imperial Academy, they seemed to be proud of calling themselves disciples of the Rosebud Fencing Academy. It was kinda cute.

The skill gap between their fencing and the Gaiarok cadets was still noticeable, and even for Basilisk and Cabbage cadets, fighting someone with a similar skill level was a good way to learn a lot.

Odo and Harwin took their position as assistants extremely seriously.

Most of the time.

"Hey, Rup. I heard you cried when we were expelled," Odo said as he dried the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

"I didn't!" The girl replied from the sideline where she was resting from her match against Rockman.

"You are a lousy liar."

Rup seemed to be about to sic Wooden Rup on the two henchmen.

The floating countdown reached zero, and the buzzer—an illusory sound made with [Mirage]—announced the end of the match. Willow lowered her arms and grunted something about slippery rats. Each cadet had 'died' at least once, but they were getting better. Leonie, Fenwick, Genivra, and Yvain joined the other cadets to comment on the session. Holst and Ghila had great insight into what to avoid and what to improve.

Compared to them, I had a lot less experience fighting in real combat.

The cadet who could benefit more from my input was Malkah. His Bloodreaver skills—or a lack thereof—lined up better with my [Mana Mastery]. The more the boy got wounded, the more his physical and magical prowess increased. Generally, Bloodreavers relied on their physical capabilities to fight because they had no skills to spend their increasing mana pool on, but that wasn't the case for Malkah.

Unlike me, Holst and Ghila had no second thoughts on inflicting pain on a student. Luckily, Wolf's [Stupor] helped desensitize the body to some extent. Malkah seemed to enjoy pushing his powers to new limits in that safe environment.

Ultimately, the secret weapon of the Cabbage-Basilisk-Gaiarok Alliance was the power of friendship—or, technically, the contribution of good-willed individuals.

"Good job, everybody! Let's call it a day," I said, clapping my hands and signaling to the cadets in the other bubbles that we were done for the day. "Don't forget to drink a lot of water!"

The only one who didn't break a sweat, no matter how much he fought, was Holst.

I guessed that was one of the perks of being magnificent-bastard-adjacent.

As always, the cadets vacated the Egg like someone was chasing them.

"That was funny," Willow said.

"Chasing and punching kids is fun to you?" Osprey asked.

Willow nodded. "My level is locked on twenty-five, so it isn't as bad as you make it sound."

Getting the Academy to accept my request to get the guards to help with the training was easy. Evelisse had been strangely supportive since I started spending time with Althea. In the end, Astur couldn't just ignore the request of a powerful member of the royal family and agreed to the request as long as the guards signed the Silence Hex.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have things to do," I excused myself as Ghila approached with her 'I want to duel someone strong, and I want it now' face.

"He's doing the Herran thing?" Ghila asked out loud, like I wasn't only two meters away from her.

"Lord Herran only elopes with commoners," Holst replied. "Robert, as usual, is aiming higher."

I rolled my eyes.

"Very funny, you two, although factually wrong. I'm aggressively monogamous," I said, walking to the exit.

"My sister really needs to get married soon. Would it be okay for me to arrange a blind date?! She looks like me, but weaker!" Ghila shouted, making half of the aides turn around.

"No, it's not okay! I'm really engaged at the moment!" I replied, fleeing from the scene.

I stopped in my bedroom to get a couple of things before leaving the Academy.

At the entrance, I grabbed one of the open carriages reserved for important people and told the driver to go to the imperial palace. The guards at the entrance gave me a mischievous look as they overheard the conversation.

My fame as a teacher had seemingly morphed into infamy as a womanizer.

Half of the Academy thought I was doing what was commonly known as a 'Lord Herran'.

I didn't foresee getting a fake girlfriend in my thirties, but my current life was quite the opposite of what I expected it to be a decade ago. Althea of Cadria was the key to visiting Prince Adrien without raising suspicions, and the rumors of the paternity of Talindra's child didn't seem to hinder Evelisse's efforts to create the perfect breeding ground for my 'relationship' with Althea. I had a great excuse to spend time in the royal quarters, which was exactly what I needed if I wanted to cure Prince Adrien's Corruption.

While the carriage rattled over the smooth roads, I wrote the next chapter of my magnum opus. Math was all about giving other disciplines the tools to analyze, model, and solve complex problems. I expected the Scholars from the Library to use my teachings well if Prince Adrien ever decided to share the chapters I wrote for him.

If I had to guess, however, he was going to use them as a bargaining chip against the Grand Archivist of the Academic Circle.

Not that I had any problems with that.

I myself had exchanged a lot of knowledge for personal benefit with the leader of the Artisans Circle.

When the carriage arrived at the palace gate, Althea was already waiting for me.

Althea jumped on the carriage, and the driver guided us to a lateral entrance.

White wasn't a good color to hide the Corruption climbing her neck, so Althea had added a little more color to her makeup palette. It suited her well, and most importantly, it served to fool Evelisse. During our study sessions, Althea mocked her mother to exhaustion, telling me how many different powders she gifted her after noticing a hint of makeup on her face.

The guards acted like they didn't see us passing by.

"Did you like the last manuscript I sent you?" I asked.

"I hated it," Althea replied. "I hate John von Neumann in a way I can't explain. If I ever encounter him, I will bust his knees."

I shook my head.

"The man was a genius."

"He's sadistic. What do brackets have to do with numbers?"

"Wait until we incorporate the alphabet. That's where the fun begins."

Althea deflated like an old balloon.

As always, we took a walk around the gardens until we lost the guards. Then, we climbed Prince Adrien's balcony and entered through the window. Althea's mood changed, instantly forgetting her gripes against von Neumann.

Prince Adrien was dressed in a simple fencing attire, practicing with the Runeblade. Other than the bed, there was almost no furniture in the room, which left a lot of space to observe the paintings or practice fencing. He threw the Runeblade on the bed and came to greet us, rubbing his hands. His face was a much healthier color than the last time we met, so I assumed he had gotten a new title thanks to von Neumann.

"I have a gift for you," I said, handing him the stack of paper filled with proof techniques and methods of reasoning. With a bit of luck, this chapter would also grant them a stack of Oratory. With another bit of luck, the accumulated knowledge on math history would help them get the next stack of History.

Althea gagged.

"I need a favor," I said before Prince Adrien could skim through the document. "I need to find someone related to the attack on the selection exam."

"Do you have a clue?" Prince Adrien asked, setting the documents aside.

"I do. Ashthorn is the main ingredient of the corrupted potions, and someone dropped a thousand gold coins on Ashthorn a week before the selection exam," I said. Given the amount of money, the anti-nobility movement had to have a wealthy patron or at least a bunch of high-level people backing them up.

Prince Adrien gave me a glance of understanding.

"That is a lot of money… more than an Imperial Knight makes in a year," he said.

"Not even my iron mine and my coal mine combined make that money in a year," I replied, hammering down the idea.

The anti-nobility movement was either funded by the criminal world or by powerful nobles and merchants.

The main reason I trusted Prince Adrien was that he had an alibi. He had been imprisoned in his room with Corruption crawling over his body since before the first appearance of the corrupted potions. The chances he was implicated were near zero. Besides, I had a hunch that Prince Adrien wasn't the kind of man who poisoned his people for his own benefit.

I pulled a small note from my pocket and handed it to the Prince.

"Leiv Fletch from Cadria. This is the man who bought the Ashthorn. I need to know who he is."

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